1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable computer accessories, and more particularly pertains to a new system for housing writing instruments of different sizes in a portable computer that enables the mounting of a variety of instruments on the computer without having to reconfigure a receptacle for the instrument on the computer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Computers, such as portable computers, are often used with accessories that facilitate the operation of the computer. For example, portable computers that include tablet touch sensitive screens are typically actuated or operated using a stylus that includes a point that is relatively non-injurious to the touch screen as compared to a writing pen. As styli are not readily available to the user, it is desirable to mount a suitable stylus on the portable computer so that it is close at hand when needed, and the user thus does not have to resort to using finger touch or even a pen or pencil to operate the touch screen. While external clips may be used, it is often preferred to form a receptacle in the body of the portable computer to removably receive the stylus. In such implementations, the size and shape of the receptacle is usually closely tailored to the size and shape of the exterior of the stylus to securely hold the stylus between uses and resist rattling of the stylus against the housing of the portable computer when the stylus is positioned in the receptacle.
However, this manner of storing the stylus in the housing of the portable computer serves to limit the configuration of the stylus to one particular configuration, or dimension, as it is typically not feasible or economical to vary the configuration of the receptacle in the housing to accept different sizes or styles or configurations of styli to offer additional options in the design or function of the stylus. Thus, the user of the computer has generally been limited to one stylus design for a particular computer. This limitation can be a problem when the manufacturer of the portable computer desires to offer a number of optional styli designs as, for example, updates from an original stylus offering or upgrades from a standard stylus offering.
Therefore, there is a need for the ability to offer styli of different configurations while still retaining the ability to position the different configurations or dimensions in a common receptacle in the housing of the computer that does not have to be varied to accommodate the different styli configurations.